One Last Breath
~By: Lauren~
O P E N R O A D
The wind blew apart the strands of her red hair that were stuck together
from sweat and rain as she breathed out a sigh. Up above her the gray
clouds had released their pains by pouring out droplet after droplet of
freezing rain. The sky was opening up to her heart as the tiny clear pieces
of water tumbled through the air to collide with either Meimi, her friends
or the paved road under their motorbikes. "The rain is strange." Meimi
thought to herself over the hum of her bike motor. "The water is one...sort
of like a family, all together in the sky but then one day the cloud rips
them apart and tosses them down to earth. The rain is pulled apart into
thousands of solitary teardrops as they chill while the ground grows closer
and closer to them. There they splash onto trees, grass, flowers, houses,
people, and tons of other things. But...they run off of the items and join
again to form one. A river, a puddle, or a stream. And some of the rain is
absorbed into the grass where it becomes one with the plant and it
replenishes the plant. In the end...the rain returns to its home." She
shrugged. The rain had soaked into her red hair, causing it to stick to her
face and neck. She had her raven colored trench coat pulled tightly around
her body to keep the rain from penetrating into her warm, comfy normal
clothing. "I must be going insane." A rough chuckled escaped her throat.
She took note of the colorful wild flowers that littered the side of the
street. Spring was finally here. It was easy to think of Spring as a season
of bountiful birth and new growth, life-giving water to be showered upon
the lands, as if a time of joy and that was the way Meimi had thought of it
before. That was her association with rain. But no longer was that now the
case, as she watched the rain whip around her, for as she had decided just
three days ago that rain was not a symbol of life, at least no longer was
it for her. She couldn't think of rain in such a manner, for the last time
she had encountered the downfall of nature's tears, it had not been for a
gain of life, but a loss...
Meimi frowned. She wanted to believe that sorrow would vanquish, like the rain, it'll eventually retreat. Behind her she heard Ruby sneeze. Her poor friend was getting soaked but there was nothing Meimi could do for her at the time except encourage her to bundle deeper into her backpack.
"Day dreaming are we?" A voice yelled over to Meimi. She glanced to her left to find Tony driving next to her. Behind him, Marie had her arms locked tightly around him for the group knew the tricks the older boy liked to pull on his younger sibling.
"Very funny." Meimi retorted, rolling her eyes at his sarcastic tone. "I'm tired and cold and wet!!"
"Aren't we all?" Marie smirked while yawning, which came out looking very strange.
"Why don't we just stop at the next town, ok?" Another voice hollered over the noise of the bikes and the rain. Meimi looked to her opposite side to see Tammy pulled up along her. Aaron was smiling brightly.
Meimi shrugged. "Sure. We can rest." The red head breathed a sigh of joy. She was dying to rest but didn't want to say anything to slow the group down. She had no right to complain. Not after what she had said and done before. She felt a strange fatigue fall over her body as if all she wanted to do was collapse onto the floor and fall asleep immediately. Her muscles ached and her bones even seemed to ache. Her throat felt dry and tight even though all around her rain was pouring down, drenching anything it seemed to touch. Her temples throbbed with pain as a headache immediately attacked her and to top it off, her backside was numb except for her stinging tailbone that constantly bugged her. They had been riding all day, from breakfast until way past dinner as Meimi's stomach could vouch for that.
"Let's turn down that exit." Tony spoke up, pointing about eight feet in front of them and to his right.
"Sure." Tammy and Meimi both chorused at the same time, bringing giggles from Aaron. Meimi sniffed up her now running nose. Her body was going back and forth with trembles and then becoming freezing cold and suddenly burning hot. Her vision of the road blurred and for a moment she was afraid she would lose control of her bike but with a quick shake of her head, her vision returned to normal. It seemed as if her energy had entirely been drained. She barely remembered turning her bike to follow the others down a few alleyways and to a plain whitewashed house which sported a black tiled roof.
"Where are we?" Meimi murmured. They had pulled into a black asphalt driveway and were now pushing their bikes through a gate that led into the backyard of the house. She slid off her bike and for a second she was sure her legs would crumble under her weight but a pair of strong arms caught her while another held up her bike. Her eyelids felt like a thousand pounds pushing down to close them.
"Aaron, will you take her bike around back?" The voice was Tony's. It came from behind her so she was sure he was the one holding her up.
"Sure." Aaron chirped up, following Tammy and Marie through the gates.
One arm slid under the nook where her legs bent at her knees while the other held onto her under her shoulders. With a swift motion she was up in the air, being carried by the Italian boy. Meimi smirked. If Tammy was the jealous type she would be turning green by now but the girl knew her friend wasn't like that.
"W-where are we?" Meimi stated again feebly as she watched a window pass her. Yet again, her question went unanswered. Tony was carrying her around the back. She wasn't even sure how she was able to open her mouth and speak for her body felt like a horse had sat on her. She felt as if she was on fire. The rain finally stopped splattering down on her as the group crowded under a tiny wooden porch.
A loud knock on the backdoor sent pains flying through Meimi's head.
"Hello?" An old woman's voice spoke. If Meimi had been paying attention she would have seen a wrinkled face peek out from a crack in the door. The woman had a mop of curly white-gray hair that framed her face and was cut very short.
Tony smiled. "It's just us Georgia!"
A look of recognition passed through the old woman's face before it seemed to light up with joy. "Oh Tony!! I've missed you all so dearly! I was beginning to worry when you didn't stop by in the last, what, seven months?! Come in and get out of the cold right now!!" The woman pulled the door open all the way to let out a flood of welcoming warm light.
"Thanks." Tammy spoke up for the group. After they had each entered the house everyone except Tony gave the woman a tight hug while she spotted kisses on their cheeks.
"Who's the new one?" Georgia smirked while she looked over Meimi.
Meimi could only stare upward, looking at the mass of lines on Georgia's face. Georgia was wearing a thick cotton, light green nightdress.
"This is Meimi. I think she's sick...at least she's acting like she is." Tony sighed, feeling his arms weaken after holding the girl up for so long. It wasn't that she was heavy it was just he too was tired from the ride.
Georgia laid her hand upon Meimi's forehead. "My yes! She's burning with a fever! Why don't we bring her into the guest bedroom and let her sleep and I'm sure it'll pass by soon. I'll take her temperature and give her some of my old remedies. You all make yourselves comfortable and please get something to eat. Especially you Tammy, you're getting as skinny as a bean pole!!"
Tammy groaned, annoying a bit by the comment but the girl could never stay mad long at the kind old woman. She was like family to them and was one out of so few people that treated them all kindly. They had grown to know her because she was an old friend of Tony's mother before she had passed away and the group constantly stopped by her home when they rode through her town. She lived by herself for her husband had passed away about seven years ago from a rare disease.
Meimi felt cozy soft blankets enwrap. Within a few minutes, she was fast asleep. Her mind was filled with strange dreams and nightmares as she tossed and turned throughout the night. Sometime between dreams an orange tabby cat had come to curl up at the foot of Meimi's bed. The dreams were strange, some having nothing to do with anything. Sometimes she would be running down a pathway but it was as if she was running in place and never moved. The strangest of them all was when a green frog hopped up to her and began to speak to her in rhymes. But there was one dream that stuck out to her. One single dream that she remembered and she feared she would remember it until the end of time.
~*~
She was standing barefoot on a black stone floor. It wasn't a polished floor like that in a home or building but it was rough black rock. All around her flames licked the air, threatening to come closer to her and burn the hairs off of her head while melting away at her skin. The heat was intense and it felt so real to her. The red and orange flames surrounded her, giving her no escape. Her breaths came in ragged as she stepped towards the firewall, holding out her left hand. She jumped back quickly as the flames dove at her skin, scorching it as her hand throbbed with very real pain.
Suddenly, a voice spoke. "Meimi..."
She spun around, looking everywhere for the source of the stranger's voice. No one was near her and if they were, she couldn't see past the flames.
Then the voice called out to her. She looked upward. Asuka Jr.'s face was staring down at her with a scold.
"Why did you run away? Why did you kill them and then leave?" He screamed at her, his large hand pointing down at her as if he was condemning her.
"I...DIDN'T...MEAN TOO!!!" Meimi yelled up at him. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
Asuka Jr. smirked. "Liar. You run away from all that you're afraid off. You're afraid you'll see the truth and so you run like a coward. That's all you'll ever be. A coward who has nothing left for her except the open road. You'll face the truth one day and then...then you'll realize your own stupidity but when you realize it, there will be no one left for you to turn to. Murder." His words stabbed into her, ripping through her heart.
She fell to her knees as tears streamed down her cheeks. She closed her eyes to fight the pain as an ear-piercing scream burst forth from her throat. The roaring of the flames ceased as it seemed that time stood still. Carefully Meimi opened her eyes. She sat on soft, warm sand as enormous waves crashed down. The cool water slipped up to caress her bare skin. A smile found its way onto Meimi's face as her racing heart calmed. Glancing into the water she found her own reflection staring back at her. Ripples broke up her image and when they calmed to form it again a horrid sight stared back at her. It was of Tammy, Marie, Tony and Aaron. They all wore orange jumpsuits with bold black words printed across the back.
North Country Prison.
Chains linked their ankles and wrists as their pale faces shone with agony. And then, in front of the four stood Meimi. But she wasn't clad in orange or wearing chains. She was dressed as Saint Tail and she was leading the four through a dimmed hallway in a prison. Screaming, she splashed the water and fell forward, letting the ocean water envelop her but she didn't fight for air. She simply let her body sink into the depths of the sea as a calm serene voice spoke. "You must choose your destiny."
And then she awoke.
~*~
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain't so far down
Meimi frowned. She wanted to believe that sorrow would vanquish, like the rain, it'll eventually retreat. Behind her she heard Ruby sneeze. Her poor friend was getting soaked but there was nothing Meimi could do for her at the time except encourage her to bundle deeper into her backpack.
"Day dreaming are we?" A voice yelled over to Meimi. She glanced to her left to find Tony driving next to her. Behind him, Marie had her arms locked tightly around him for the group knew the tricks the older boy liked to pull on his younger sibling.
"Very funny." Meimi retorted, rolling her eyes at his sarcastic tone. "I'm tired and cold and wet!!"
"Aren't we all?" Marie smirked while yawning, which came out looking very strange.
"Why don't we just stop at the next town, ok?" Another voice hollered over the noise of the bikes and the rain. Meimi looked to her opposite side to see Tammy pulled up along her. Aaron was smiling brightly.
Meimi shrugged. "Sure. We can rest." The red head breathed a sigh of joy. She was dying to rest but didn't want to say anything to slow the group down. She had no right to complain. Not after what she had said and done before. She felt a strange fatigue fall over her body as if all she wanted to do was collapse onto the floor and fall asleep immediately. Her muscles ached and her bones even seemed to ache. Her throat felt dry and tight even though all around her rain was pouring down, drenching anything it seemed to touch. Her temples throbbed with pain as a headache immediately attacked her and to top it off, her backside was numb except for her stinging tailbone that constantly bugged her. They had been riding all day, from breakfast until way past dinner as Meimi's stomach could vouch for that.
"Let's turn down that exit." Tony spoke up, pointing about eight feet in front of them and to his right.
"Sure." Tammy and Meimi both chorused at the same time, bringing giggles from Aaron. Meimi sniffed up her now running nose. Her body was going back and forth with trembles and then becoming freezing cold and suddenly burning hot. Her vision of the road blurred and for a moment she was afraid she would lose control of her bike but with a quick shake of her head, her vision returned to normal. It seemed as if her energy had entirely been drained. She barely remembered turning her bike to follow the others down a few alleyways and to a plain whitewashed house which sported a black tiled roof.
"Where are we?" Meimi murmured. They had pulled into a black asphalt driveway and were now pushing their bikes through a gate that led into the backyard of the house. She slid off her bike and for a second she was sure her legs would crumble under her weight but a pair of strong arms caught her while another held up her bike. Her eyelids felt like a thousand pounds pushing down to close them.
"Aaron, will you take her bike around back?" The voice was Tony's. It came from behind her so she was sure he was the one holding her up.
"Sure." Aaron chirped up, following Tammy and Marie through the gates.
One arm slid under the nook where her legs bent at her knees while the other held onto her under her shoulders. With a swift motion she was up in the air, being carried by the Italian boy. Meimi smirked. If Tammy was the jealous type she would be turning green by now but the girl knew her friend wasn't like that.
"W-where are we?" Meimi stated again feebly as she watched a window pass her. Yet again, her question went unanswered. Tony was carrying her around the back. She wasn't even sure how she was able to open her mouth and speak for her body felt like a horse had sat on her. She felt as if she was on fire. The rain finally stopped splattering down on her as the group crowded under a tiny wooden porch.
A loud knock on the backdoor sent pains flying through Meimi's head.
"Hello?" An old woman's voice spoke. If Meimi had been paying attention she would have seen a wrinkled face peek out from a crack in the door. The woman had a mop of curly white-gray hair that framed her face and was cut very short.
Tony smiled. "It's just us Georgia!"
A look of recognition passed through the old woman's face before it seemed to light up with joy. "Oh Tony!! I've missed you all so dearly! I was beginning to worry when you didn't stop by in the last, what, seven months?! Come in and get out of the cold right now!!" The woman pulled the door open all the way to let out a flood of welcoming warm light.
"Thanks." Tammy spoke up for the group. After they had each entered the house everyone except Tony gave the woman a tight hug while she spotted kisses on their cheeks.
"Who's the new one?" Georgia smirked while she looked over Meimi.
Meimi could only stare upward, looking at the mass of lines on Georgia's face. Georgia was wearing a thick cotton, light green nightdress.
"This is Meimi. I think she's sick...at least she's acting like she is." Tony sighed, feeling his arms weaken after holding the girl up for so long. It wasn't that she was heavy it was just he too was tired from the ride.
Georgia laid her hand upon Meimi's forehead. "My yes! She's burning with a fever! Why don't we bring her into the guest bedroom and let her sleep and I'm sure it'll pass by soon. I'll take her temperature and give her some of my old remedies. You all make yourselves comfortable and please get something to eat. Especially you Tammy, you're getting as skinny as a bean pole!!"
Tammy groaned, annoying a bit by the comment but the girl could never stay mad long at the kind old woman. She was like family to them and was one out of so few people that treated them all kindly. They had grown to know her because she was an old friend of Tony's mother before she had passed away and the group constantly stopped by her home when they rode through her town. She lived by herself for her husband had passed away about seven years ago from a rare disease.
Meimi felt cozy soft blankets enwrap. Within a few minutes, she was fast asleep. Her mind was filled with strange dreams and nightmares as she tossed and turned throughout the night. Sometime between dreams an orange tabby cat had come to curl up at the foot of Meimi's bed. The dreams were strange, some having nothing to do with anything. Sometimes she would be running down a pathway but it was as if she was running in place and never moved. The strangest of them all was when a green frog hopped up to her and began to speak to her in rhymes. But there was one dream that stuck out to her. One single dream that she remembered and she feared she would remember it until the end of time.
~*~
She was standing barefoot on a black stone floor. It wasn't a polished floor like that in a home or building but it was rough black rock. All around her flames licked the air, threatening to come closer to her and burn the hairs off of her head while melting away at her skin. The heat was intense and it felt so real to her. The red and orange flames surrounded her, giving her no escape. Her breaths came in ragged as she stepped towards the firewall, holding out her left hand. She jumped back quickly as the flames dove at her skin, scorching it as her hand throbbed with very real pain.
Suddenly, a voice spoke. "Meimi..."
She spun around, looking everywhere for the source of the stranger's voice. No one was near her and if they were, she couldn't see past the flames.
Then the voice called out to her. She looked upward. Asuka Jr.'s face was staring down at her with a scold.
"Why did you run away? Why did you kill them and then leave?" He screamed at her, his large hand pointing down at her as if he was condemning her.
"I...DIDN'T...MEAN TOO!!!" Meimi yelled up at him. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!"
Asuka Jr. smirked. "Liar. You run away from all that you're afraid off. You're afraid you'll see the truth and so you run like a coward. That's all you'll ever be. A coward who has nothing left for her except the open road. You'll face the truth one day and then...then you'll realize your own stupidity but when you realize it, there will be no one left for you to turn to. Murder." His words stabbed into her, ripping through her heart.
She fell to her knees as tears streamed down her cheeks. She closed her eyes to fight the pain as an ear-piercing scream burst forth from her throat. The roaring of the flames ceased as it seemed that time stood still. Carefully Meimi opened her eyes. She sat on soft, warm sand as enormous waves crashed down. The cool water slipped up to caress her bare skin. A smile found its way onto Meimi's face as her racing heart calmed. Glancing into the water she found her own reflection staring back at her. Ripples broke up her image and when they calmed to form it again a horrid sight stared back at her. It was of Tammy, Marie, Tony and Aaron. They all wore orange jumpsuits with bold black words printed across the back.
North Country Prison.
Chains linked their ankles and wrists as their pale faces shone with agony. And then, in front of the four stood Meimi. But she wasn't clad in orange or wearing chains. She was dressed as Saint Tail and she was leading the four through a dimmed hallway in a prison. Screaming, she splashed the water and fell forward, letting the ocean water envelop her but she didn't fight for air. She simply let her body sink into the depths of the sea as a calm serene voice spoke. "You must choose your destiny."
And then she awoke.
~*~
Hold me now
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking
That maybe six feet
Ain't so far down